


Doubt Truth To Be a Liar

by sunrise_and_death



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Ghost Riko, M/M, Negotiations, Pre-Slash, hamlet inspired
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-01
Updated: 2018-07-01
Packaged: 2019-05-31 21:25:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15128129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunrise_and_death/pseuds/sunrise_and_death
Summary: It was the ghost that tipped Neil off.Or, a snapshot of All for the Game meets Hamlet.





	Doubt Truth To Be a Liar

**Author's Note:**

> The title comes from Act II, Scene 2 of Hamlet, from a letter from Hamlet to Ophelia. More completely, the poem reads: 
> 
> _Doubt thou the stars are fire,_  
>  Doubt that the sun doth move,  
> Doubt truth to be a liar,  
> But never doubt I love.
> 
> It generally has nothing to do with the actual story, but I liked it for Andrew and Neil anyway.
> 
> Also, this story was written for Andriel Week 2018, Day 1. Clearly, I chose the Shakespeare prompt.

It was the ghost that tipped him off.

Once Neil got his breathing under control and stopped Kevin’s shaking, he grabbed his warmest coat from his room and climbed up to the castle’s highest tower. He rapped ten times on the door, one after the other, and waited.

It took three minutes for the door to open. Inside, the tower’s sole occupant failed to be impressed by him or his patience.

“Kevin just saw Riko’s ghost,” Neil told him. “Can I come in?”

Wordlessly, Andrew turned around and wandered deeper into the room. It was the only invitation Neil would get, so he took it.

The tower was dark and barren. Neil seated himself in the second of two armchairs (which gathered dust in his absence) and tucked his legs up against his chest. He relayed the story as concisely as he could.

The facts were these:

1\. Both Kevin and Neil had spotted a figure bearing a disturbing resemblance to the recently dead Riko Moriyama.

2\. While Kevin had been frozen with fear, Neil had raced after it. Once he got close enough to confirm it was indeed Riko—albeit more transparent than he had been in life—the specter had disappeared.

3\. At the same moment, Riko reappeared in front of Kevin and tasked him with dispensing with Riko’s murderer, who was none other than the new regent and elder Moriyama brother, Ichirou.

4\. Upon Neil’s return, he’d discovered the shaking mess which had previously been Prince Kevin Day and drawn the entire story from him. No sooner had he heard it than he had determined that Andrew must be told.

“And so,” he ended his tale, waving a hand at Andrew. “What do you think?”

Even this account hadn’t succeeded in making much of an impression on its apathetic listener. “Being dead has not improved on Riko,” Andrew commented, as he might have noted that soup was hot or his tower was high. (Considering his fear of heights, the latter might have actually been stated with slightly more weight.)

“No,” Neil agreed, flexing his calves. “But Kevin still feels guilt over his death. I worry that he will follow Riko’s lead even now—or that someone else thinks he will.”

This idea had occurred to Andrew as well, but he did not see any merit in telling Neil so. Instead, he said, “This has no relevance for me.”

“Would you like it to?” Neil asked, coming to his point. “It is only a month until Kevin will be crowned; the regent must be desperate. Kevin needs you at his side.”

“Haven’t you heard?” Andrew circled one finger by his temple. “My mother died and I went mad.”

“You murdered your mother,” Neil corrected him, “and you are as sane as I am.”

“Not a high bar to clear.”

Neil ignored him, as was sometimes necessary when he wanted to make a point. “Kevin is willing to make a deal with you.”

This piqued Andrew’s interest. “Hasn’t Aaron already warned him off that?”

“Aaron hasn’t spoken to anyone but Nicky since he left for school,” Neil informed him. “And you kept your end of the deal, which is what matters to me, and I was the one to suggest a deal.”

“You.” Andrew’s voice was steady, but he was coiled in his armchair like a snake. “And what stake do you have in this, Nathaniel Wesninski? Last I checked, your father was the regent’s strongest backer.”

“Well, you have been confined in a tower,” Neil pointed out, but relented under Andrew’s stare. “You know what I want.”

Andrew relaxed back into his seat, dismissing the entire scene. “Then you are a fool. Kevin is too much of a coward to free you from under your father’s thumb. He will heed Ichirou until the man slits his throat.”

“Maybe,” Neil allowed. “Or maybe your protection will give him the courage he needs to change things.”

“I don’t think so,” Andrew said, but they both knew he was considering it. “And what would be in it for me?”

Neil spread his hands wide. “What are you asking for?”

This took significantly less consideration. “Something interesting.”

Humming one low note, Neil stood and stretched. “I’ve been told I”m interesting,” he said, attempting to sound offhand. He mostly came off smug, though.

Alarmingly, this wasn’t enough to change Andrew’s mind. “I will get bored of you,” Andrew told him, but his eyes were fixed on the line of Neil’s torso.

“And when you do, our deal will be null,” Neil promised. He held out a hand. “Agreed?”

After a few long moments of deliberation, Andrew took it. “Agreed,” he said.

They shook on it, and only a minute later, Andrew descended from the tower.

**Author's Note:**

> So, if you're actually trying to map the characters over, it's kind of confusing because I screwed around with both the timeline and the characters. But in essence...
> 
> Kevin - Hamlet  
> Neil - Horatio  
> Andrew - Ophelia  
> Aaron - Laertes  
> Tilda - Polonius  
> Riko - Hamlet Sr./the Ghost  
> Ichirou - Claudius
> 
> Which makes absolutely no sense, but we're rolling with it.
> 
> You can find me on [Tumblr](http://sunrise-and-death.tumblr.com).


End file.
